Services

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Audit and Assurance and Non-Attest Services

We provide audit and assurance for private, closely held clients. For more than 30 years, we have strived for continued excellence in this area by implementing new methodologies and staying abreast of current developments. We work hard to maintain our firm’s reputation by adhering to the highest professional standards and we consistently meet the highest level of the requirements set by the AICPA and NCACPA in the peer reviews performed on our audits. We also provide non-attest services, preparing both review and compilation financial statements for businesses and compilations for individuals.

Employee Benefit Plans

Farris Cooke and Associates is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center and has been performing employee benefit plan audits, preparing Form 5500 filings and providing other services related to employee benefit plans since 1988. Our experience includes a thorough understanding of the AICPA Audit and Accounting Guide for Employee Benefit Plans, the Internal Revenue Service’s and Department of Labor’s rules and regulations along with the ERISA reporting requirements for retirement plans.

Tax Services

At Farris Cooke and Associates we provide a proactive, personalized guidance to your tax research, planning and preparation needs. Whether we are focusing on private, closely held businesses, pass-through entities or individuals, our goal remains the same: To make sure you are taking maximum advantage of every opportunity and are in compliance with today’s complex rules. We understand and assess how each component of your tax plan affects the entire picture. We help you develop an in-depth tax strategy that captures every possible opportunity on savings for your local, state and federal taxes.

Our approach includes:

Tax research

State and local tax services

Federal tax planning and forecasting

Estate and gift planning

Representation before federal, state and local agencies

Practice areas that specialize in taxes for the following:

Private, closely held companies and family owned businesses including corporations, Subchapter S corporations and LLC’s

Real estate partnerships

Public and private charitable foundations

Individuals

Sales and Use

Property Tax

Payroll Tax

Write-up Services

Whether performed by company employees or an accounting firm, all businesses require some degree of write-up services. These services can contribute significantly to the management and performance of the business by providing basic accounting information. These services include:

Monthly and Year-end Closing Assistance
Whether recording cash receipts and disbursements, accruals, and adjustments to produce detail general ledgers and trial balances, performing accounts reconciliations to the general ledger, or summarizing data to prepare tax returns, we can assist you in maintaining your financial records using the appropriate accounting basis.

Fixed Asset and Depreciation Reports
We reconcile fixed asset purchases and removals to your general ledger activity and maintain reports supporting the detail ledgers and trial balances, in addition, we prepare the depreciation calculations for financial statement, federal and state income tax purposes.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Farris Cooke and Associates provides a full range of services to help you through a merger or acquisition—whether you are the buyer or the seller.

We can provide the complete solution from initial planning through the sale process to post-transaction true-ups. Our focus on closely held companies helps us design best-fit solutions to meet your objectives, while keeping costs in line with the overall deal value.

Our M&A services include buy/sell advisory, due diligence, business and intangible asset valuation, tax planning and transaction structuring, pre-acquisition planning and analysis, and assistance negotiating, structuring and closing the transaction.

Wealth Transfer and Estate Planning Services

For more than 30 years, Farris Cooke and Associates has worked with a large number of family-owned businesses. During this time we have often had the privilege of working with families in developing a comprehensive strategy to help transfer business and financial assets in a coordinated manner to the next generation. To achieve this goal, you need a trusted business advisor with a complete understanding of your personal wealth or family-owned business, as well as knowledge in the ever-changing estate and gifting tax environment. We can effectively advise you on the wide range of business and personal concerns involved in transfer planning including will consultation, limited partnerships, estates and trusts and family foundations.